The Numbers

Have you ever wondered if you should be using gross or net revenue? What is the difference between gross and net revenue or gross and net sales? Why you should use one over the other in your [...]

This restaurant industry podcast is an audio version of SMART Systems Insider, a video magazine from TheRetaurantExpert.com, is your fast track to lower food costs, lower labor costs, an [...]

If forecasting restaurant sales seems hard to do in your restaurant, know you’re not alone. It isn’t as straight forward for today’s modern restaurant as it used to be. There [...]

If you run your restaurant by gut and you’re not using restaurant budgeting, I urge you to STOP.  You can’t do it anymore – the risk is just too great. In the video below I [...]

What is prime cost vs food cost? Do you wonder where the numbers that make up prime cost come from? Where does food cost fit into the prime cost calculation? How does the prime cost calculation [...]

First, if you’re hiring a restaurant consultant, I applaud you for looking for solutions. In the restaurant industry, we don’t often hire a consultant because we don’t want [...]

Have you ever wondered how how to charge for free food in a restaurant? Do you offer something for free in your restaurant? For example, chips and salsa? Or bread and butter? Or even condiments? [...]

Paper cost is a real restaurant cost. Have you ever wondered if the cost of your paper products belong in a recipe costing card? After all, if it could be part of the recipe and its presentation, [...]

The core of our work is to get restaurant owners to a 55 percent restaurant prime cost. As a refresher, the restaurant prime cost percentage consists of the two main controllable costs in your [...]

Has your gut instinct ever told you what your chef is telling you about food cost isn’t right? How about a general manager guessing what menu items should cost based on a formula? There are [...]